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July 26, 2004

The Hits Just keep On Coming. Trot Nixon and Curtis Leskanic (right shoulder tendinitis) are on the 15-day disabled list, and Jason Varitek missed last night's game because of a sore right wrist. ... Andy Dominique replaced Nixon on the roster; Terry Adams took Leskanic's spot.

Scott Williamson allowed one run in .2 of an inning for Pawtucket, walking two, striking out one and throwing 20 pitches. He'll pitch Tuesday for Portland and hopes to rejoin the team Friday in Minnesota. ... Alan Embree has been battling spasms and tightness in his left triceps for about a week. ... Although Boston has two consecutive Thursdays off, the rotation will likely remain intact. ... "Yankee Bob" Watson says "you can best believe that" there will be some suspensions regarding Saturday's brawl, but not until Wednesday or Thursday.

Derek Lowe sounds like he thinks he's gone: "You guys all got me traded ... I'm just trying to enjoy the last Red Sox-Yankees game before I go elsewhere. ... If I'm the problem around here, well then we all need to move on. I don't feel like I need to go out and consistently prove that I deserve the ball the next 11 or 12 times during the year."

Kevin Millar: "I was in a coma the last two and a half months" -- before opening up his stance before last Wednesday's game. During the six-game homestand, he went 14-for-20 with 6 home runs and 11 RBI, raising his batting average 28 points in five days. He was 10-for-13 with four homers (all solos) and eight RBI against the Yankees. ... Millar is also Boston's emergency catcher. Tito: "He said he's not good at balls in the dirt. I said, 'I already know that.'" ... New York Post: "Kevin Millar's bat is nearly as unstoppable as his mouth."

Dave Anderson of the New York Times wrote the following sentence before the series began: "For Contreras, it will be another opportunity to embarrass the Red Sox for having been outbid two years ago by the Yankees, who lured him with a four-year, $32 million contract." Another opportunity? Shouldn't Contreras have embarrassed Boston at least once before he gets another chance? ... Lawrence Rocca, Newark Star-Ledger: "Contreras has a mental block against the Sox. He tried to explain away this latest disaster as just a bad night at the office, as a result of lacking physical control over his pitches. You don't have to be Dr. Phil to realize that's a load of hooey." ... For the record, the Cuban Con Man is now 0-4, 16.44 against the Red Sox.

Willie Randolph on the recent Red Sox-Yankees dustups: "It's still not the way it was before. There used to be a real disdain between the players for each other. ... [W]e expected to get brushed back. We'd get together in the dugout afterwards and talk about who to get back, and when to do it, and that was it. ... When I first came up Thurman pulled me aside and filled me in on the way it was. ... Guys came out of those pileups really battered and bruised. ... I get flashbacks still. My blood starts to boil."